Plin
Long Swinging Paul
In regards to swing changes. I believe you do need a different swing to maximize the distance, the launching angle is key. There's a chart out there that shows your potential distance with a given SS. Again, not knowing your swing, there's a likely chance you could get more distance with a positive attack angle without a dramatic change in your current swing.The last point is the one I keep batting around in my head. There's a big part of me that says one of the reasons I've been playing so much better this year is that I've been keeping my driver in play. So I'm not all that inclined to mess with my swing. But there's also a part of me that says the driver is a big part of why those guys are + handicaps--they hit wedges into greens where I might hit a 7 or 8 iron with my best drive. All in all, I think it's a combination of the things everyone mentioned. I make decent contact with my driver, but I definitely don't hit it dead center anywhere near as often as a + handicap; fitting could be an issue--I've never had a true driver fitting and there isn't a Trackman or Flightscope to be found where I live; and there's undoubtedly swing issues that make my SS with a driver substantially lower than a + handicap. Since the best I could do fitting wise is a simulator at a local shop (which serves it's purpose, but just isn't the same as a really good fitting, in my opinion) and I'm playing well enough that I'm leery of making big swing changes, I think I'm going to try to focus on two things: (1) spending time at the range--instead of just playing--to work on consistently making center contact; and (2) starting a workout program focused on developing muscles and flexibility that will aid in SS.
But I fully agree with practice and conditioning to get more distance the right way.